3 Mass. congressmen help doom $700 billion bailout

Tuesday

Sep 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMSep 30, 2008 at 12:32 PM

U.S. Reps. William Delahunt, Stephen Lynch and John Tierney broke with Democratic party leaders and seven House colleagues from Massachusetts to oppose the $700 billion bailout. Each said it placed too heavy a risk on taxpayers instead of on Wall Street’s financial titans.

John P. Kelly

Three of the 228 “no” votes that scuttled a Congressional bailout package and sent stocks tumbling were cast by Massachusetts congressmen.

U.S. Reps. William Delahunt, Stephen Lynch and John Tierney broke with Democratic party leaders and their seven House colleagues from Massachusetts to oppose the $700 billion bailout on Monday. Each said it placed too great a risk on taxpayers instead of on Wall Street’s financial titans.

“The calls in my district were running about 50-50, with 50 percent ‘no,’ and 50 percent ‘Hell, no!’” said Lynch, a South Boston Democrat whose district includes several South Shore towns. “My constituents aren’t shy about any issue (but) they are rarely as unified as they were on this one.”

Lynch, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said his office received more than 370 phone calls by Sunday night. Only three were in support of the bailout, he said.

Delahunt, a Quincy Democrat, said two key provisions were excluded, one offering increased protection to homeowners facing foreclosure and a “guarantee that any deficiencies incurred would be paid for by transaction fees on financial institutions, not American taxpayers.”

“Why should the people in Ledgerland have to pay?” he said.

Delahunt blamed the Bush administration for “eight years of unregulated, unfettered, cowboy economics,” and said it now was attempting to fast-track the bailout playing on fears of “economic Armageddon.”

Seven members of the state’s all-Democratic House delegation voted for the plan: Reps. Michael Capuano, Barney Frank, Edward Markey, James McGovern, Richard Neal, John Olver and Niki Tsongas.

Markey stressed that while he did not like everything in the bill, it was vital to stabilizing the nation’s economic health.

“Nobody thought the bill before the House today was a perfect solution,” Markey said in a statement. “But after careful consideration, I decided to support this bill because I believe that a failure to act now would not just punish Wall Street, but put hard-working Americans at risk of losing their homes, their jobs and their savings.”

Delahunt returned to Quincy Monday night. In a telephone interview, he praised U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee who helped shaped the failed bill. Delahunt said Frank “made every attempt to put the lipstick on this pig.”

Pressure from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other proponents to move the complex legislation through Congress in a matter of days may have added to its doom.

“They took a great risk in not deliberating on this and including enough members (of Congress) in the discussions, and I think that hurt their chances,” Lynch said.

Without dramatic changes, Lynch said he expects to remain opposed to the bailout.

In a statement, Tierney sounded more upbeat. “This bill can be improved, and a different approach can be taken. We expect to continue reviewing this matter as the week progresses.”

Delahunt said he expected to see a rescue bill passed. “We will get it done,” he said.

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